Jurors in rape trial disagree

Saturday

Apr 6, 2013 at 6:00 AMApr 6, 2013 at 10:22 AM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Jury deliberations are scheduled to resume Monday morning in the trial of a city man charged with three separate assaults at knife point on girls on their way to school and the rape of one of the alleged victims.

The crimes with which 20-year-old Charles Monroe has been charged are alleged to have occurred in Worcester over an eight-day period beginning Oct. 20, 2010. Mr. Monroe, formerly of 159 Cambridge St., has pleaded not guilty to charges that include aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery, indecent assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The jury of seven women and five men began its deliberations about 12:15 p.m. Friday after hearing closing arguments by the defense and prosecution lawyers and Judge David Ricciardone’s instructions on the law. Shortly before 3 p.m., the foreman of the jury sent a note to the judge saying there was considerable “disagreement” among the jurors and that several members of the panel had indicated they were unlikely to change their minds.

The jurors also wanted to know at what time they would conclude their deliberations. Judge Ricciardone had the jurors brought back to the courtroom and informed them that he intended to excuse them for the weekend at 4 p.m. if they had not reached a verdict by then. The jury continued its deliberations until 4 p.m. without reaching a verdict.

The morning of Oct. 20, 2010, Mr. Monroe allegedly approached a 17-year-old girl on Jefferson Street as she was walking to her bus stop, tried to engage her in conversation, held a knife to her neck and tried to direct her toward a tree across the street.

“I was trying to get away from him. I was telling him, “Don’t hurt me,’ ” the girl testified during Mr. Monroe’s Worcester Superior Court trial this week.

She said her assailant, whom she identified as Mr. Monroe, ran off after taking her book bag.

On Oct. 25, 2010, Mr. Monroe allegedly confronted a 15-year-old girl as she was walking on Dorchester Street on her way to school and grabbed her by the neck after trying to strike up a conversation. The girl testified Mr. Monroe put a knife to her neck before picking her up and trying to carry her toward a nearby driveway.

She said she managed to get away from her attacker, whom she identified as Mr. Monroe, but suffered a deep cut on her thumb from the knife when she tried to remove Mr. Monroe’s hand from her throat. She said she also suffered a small cut on her neck from the knife.

Two days later, a 16-year-old on her way to school said she was approached by Mr. Monroe on Dorchester Street. Mr. Monroe allegedly brandished a knife and directed the girl into the hallway of an apartment building on Leon Street.

The girl told the jury Mr. Monroe raped her three times after putting the knife to her throat and stole a highlighter pen from her backpack after demanding money and being told she had none.

Mr. Monroe told police he and the girl engaged in consensual sex. He admitted robbing the 17-year-old on Oct. 20, 2010, but denied using a knife. He also admitted trying to rob the 15-year-old on Oct. 25, 2010.

In his closing argument, Mr. Monroe’s lawyer, Jorge Villali, told the jury the evidence against his client did not support the rape, indecent assault and battery and kidnapping charges against him.

Assistant District Attorney Terry J. McLaughlin argued that all of the charges against Mr. Monroe had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Before sending the jury home for the weekend, Judge Ricciardone excused one of the deliberating jurors from further service for unexplained “personal” reasons and replaced the juror with an alternate juror. The judge then instructed the jurors that they would have to begin their deliberations again Monday morning.